My Mentor
by ZachaRicO
Summary: When an old rival gives May something to think about, her best friend begins to question whether he's been a positive influence in her journey. Can May convince him that this is true? Or is her rival right? Mild Advanceshipping


"What do you mean we can't get in?!" May Maple exclaimed to the door attendant. She and her friends were in a large, ornately decorated lobby, standing outside the door to a stadium.

"I'm sorry, young lady, but we're completely full," the attendant replied. "You were aware that seating is sold on a first-come-first-serve basis, right?"

"Well, yeah," May said, "but I didn't think they'd fill up so quickly. When I went to buy our tickets, half the stadium was still open!"

"A lot of people wait until the last second to get their tickets," the attendant nodded in understanding. "It's a poor practice, if you ask me."

May sighed and shook her head despondently. "Oh well," she said. "I guess we'll just watch from out here." With that, she turned and went over to a seat in the lobby seated in front of a television broadcasting the event that was happening inside. They were at an Elite Festival, a competition that was a step up from the Grand Festival that only someone who won the Ribbon Cup could enter. May begged everyone to help her buy tickets, as she wanted to see how the best of the best performed. Her little brother Max didn't want to help, as he had grown tired of watching Pokemon Contests, but a little coaxing and a few death threats caused him to change his mind. Her older friend Brock wanted to help, but he was so low on cash that he couldn't afford to give it up.

"You too, huh?"

May blinked in surprise. She turned to the voice, which she recognized, and found a face that she recognized just as much. "Drew?" Sure enough, her green-haired rival stood a step or two away from them, staring at the television, hands in his pockets with a sour frown on his face. "What are you doing here?"

"Same as you, it seems," Drew replied, turning to face her. "I wanted to watch the Elite Festival." He scoffed, whipping his head to get his hair out of his face. "Guess we both got our tickets too late."

"Talk about bad marketing," Max grumbled. "If they were all sold out, why didn't they say so? We wouldn't have wasted any money."

"Max has a point," Brock agreed, leaning back with folded arms. "They should've been more clear on how many seats were still available."

"Hmph," Drew mumbled, turning his gaze back to the television.

"Well, it's not all bad, I suppose," May said with an optimistic smile. "At least we get to watch it on TV, right?" Silence was everyone's response. Max, huffing in annoyance, turned and announced that he was going to the bathroom. Brock noticed the lobby girl nearby and, unable to control himself, began following her, begging for love. May just shrugged and leaned forward, eagerly watching the competition. Soledad, her rival who defeated her in the Kanto Grand Festival, was competing, showing off her Pokemon's moves. "Wow," May said, awestruck. "She's really good."

"She's been doing this for years," Drew pointed out. "If anyone I know has earned a place in this competition, she has."

"What about you?" May asked, turning to him. "Don't you think you've earned a place in there, too?"

Her rival blinked in surprise, turning towards her with wide eyes. But he quickly resumed his seemingly cynical demeanor and turned back towards the screen. "As much as I appreciate the flattery, no," he replied.

"Flattery?" May blinked in confusion. "I wasn't flattering you, Drew. I really do think you're that good."

"Then you've really got a lot to learn about coordinating," Drew huffed in annoyance. "I'm nowhere near their level. The only reason I'm even half as good a coordinator as you think I am is because of Soledad."

"Huh?"

"She taught me the basics of being a coordinator," he explained, "but after she left, I was on my own." He sighed. "I wish someone had taught me more." He turned to her. "Do you have someone who can do that?"

"Yeah!" May answered enthusiastically, without hesitating. Before she could say anything else, however, Drew held up his hand and interrupted her.

"I mean, do you have someone who can teach you how to be a coordinator," he said. "You can't just have any old trainer teaching you how to battle. You need a coordinator: a _real_ coordinator who can teach you how to create beauty and style with your Pokemon."

May was taken aback by Drew's sudden rebuttal. "What do you mean?" she asked quietly after a moment of silence.

Drew sighed softly and looked softly into her eyes. "You want to be a top coordinator, don't you?" he asked her softly, although everyone else could hear him.

"Yeah," May nodded, equally soft.

"Well, who do you think could teach you how to be a coordinator better: a coordinator, or anyone else?"

May was speechless for a moment, unsure what to think of this sudden idea. "I...never really thought about it like that before…"

"I know," he nodded. "I only just recently figured that out myself. That's why I thought maybe...if you wanted...we could work together in Johto to become better coordinators."

Once again, May was speechless. The room was silent; the only sounds that could be heard were Brock's distant sobbing at being rejected yet again, the jingle indicating that the front door had been opened, and the sounds from the television screen as the battle round began.

"Drew," she finally said, unaware that she was blushing lightly, "I...I don't know what to say."

"Think about it," Drew replied with a sincere smile. With that, he turned and headed for the exit.

"Wait!" May called after him. "Don't you want to stay and watch the rest of the festival?"

"Nah," Drew replied, signalling a goodbye. "I've got other more important things to do."

"Oh. Okay, then," May shrugged. "Take care!"

"You too," he called back as he left. When he was gone, May sat back down and watched as Soledad fought Robert in the first round.

"Oh, good," Max muttered behind her. "The fun part's getting started."

"Jeez, Max," May rolled her eyes. "Must be convenient that you were in the bathroom long enough to skip the appeals."

"Where's Drew?" Max asked.

"Hm? Drew?" May said, caught off guard for a moment. "Oh, he left. He said he had more important things to take care of."

"Okay, good," Max muttered. "I don't like him."

"Why not?" Brock, who had come back from sulking over being rejected (again), asked. May and Max jumped when he spoke, as they didn't see him come back.

"He's always been so mean to May, putting her down and treating her badly," Max grumbled once they regained their composure. "I always hated him for that."

"Well, he's not that bad anymore, Max," May replied. "He's much nicer, and the worst he does is teasing." She sighed softly as she watched the battles continue.

"Hey, wait a minute," Brock blinked, looking around in confusion. "Where's Ash?"

"Ash?" May blinked, snapping to attention. Ash Ketchum was May's best friend who she travelled with at the start of their journey. He taught her everything she knew about Pokemon and battling, and while he wasn't a coordinator, she knew that if it wasn't for him, she wouldn't be the coordinator that she was today. He would even interrupt his own personal training to help her prepare for her next contest. Moreover, if it wasn't for him, she wouldn't even have been able to buy tickets for this festival in the first place.

"That's weird," Max muttered. "He was here when I left. Did you see him leave, May?"  
"No, I didn't," May replied, a slightly guilty frown forming on her face. She'd been so caught up in the festival and talking to Drew that she'd almost forgotten he was there.

"Maybe he went to the bathroom, too," Brock suggested. While Max thought that sounded reasonable, May didn't buy it. Ash said he was looking forward to watching this competition, and that he would gladly help May train afterwards. May closed her eyes, trying intently to remember what happened in the past few minutes: getting turned away from entering the stadium, talking to drew, Max going to the bathroom, Brock chasing another girl, Brock getting rejected, the jingling of the door -

May's eyes shot open. _That's it!_ "Guys, I think I know where he is," she said, standing up quickly and walking briskly towards the exit.

"Uh, May?" Max blinked. "Wouldn't you rather one of us go? You're gonna miss the festival."

"I won't be long!" she called back as she left. "Take good notes for me, Max!"

"Wait, what?!" Max said in protest, but she was already gone. "Why am I the notetaker?!"

"Oh, pipe down and be a good little brother," Brock smirked, handing him a pencil and paper.

"Ugh," Max grumbled again. "I'm gonna get you for this, sis."

* * *

There was a small beach near the stadium. The sun was just starting to set as a young, raven-haired trainer and his partner Pokemon started walking along the beach, head down with a sullen frown on his face.

Ash had been with May the whole time. On Brock's orders, he hadn't said much, as he was still recovering from a sore throat (even though he'd felt just fine for a week, now). He was disappointed when they couldn't get into the stadium, as May was really looking forward to this (not to mention his money got fruitlessly spent), but he was glad they could at least watch it on television. When May started talking to Drew, he tensed up slightly. Like Max, he never liked the guy, and while he had ultimately come to respect him, he still held some distaste for him. When Drew mentioned the idea that May needed someone to be a proper mentor, Ash was confident that she would mention that she already had one. His confidence fell, as did his face, when she actually started entertaining Drew's ideas. When she became speechless at Drew's offer to train together in Johto, Ash decided that he'd heard enough. He quietly stood up and walked out of the lobby, only the sound of the door's jingle following him.

"Is he right, Pikachu?" Ash asked his partner. "Was I really not fit to be May's mentor?"

" _Pika_?" Pikachu blinked.

Ash looked at the setting sun sadly. "I always did my best to help her be strong. I know I'm not a coordinator...but I didn't think that was such a big deal." He sighed. "I guess I was wrong." He thought of May's crushing loss against Soledad, and what he'd heard was the reason why she lost.

"It's my fault she lost the Grand Festival," he said softly. "I couldn't teach her how to battle like a coordinator. Maybe Drew's right. Maybe she would be better off training with him instead of me."

"Ash?"

He looked up. Was that May? Or was he just hearing things?

"Ash!"

No, that was her, all right. But what was she doing out here? He turned and saw her walking briskly up to him.

"Ash, there you are," May said as they came face-to-face. "You disappeared without a word." Then she noticed how sad he looked. "Ash, are you okay? What's wrong?"

"Ah, n-nothing," Ash stammered, forcing a smile. "Everything's fine. I just -"

" _Piiiiii_ ," Pikachu glared at him from below. May saw this.

"I…" Ash tried again to excuse himself, but he trailed off and just sighed, turning back towards the sunset.

"Ash, come on," May said. "I know something's bothering you. Talk to me, please."

"I...I'm sorry," was all Ash could muster.

"Sorry?" May blinked, confused. "What, you're sorry that you can't tell me? You're sorry you won't tell me? What are you sorry for?"

"I'm sorry that I failed you!"

May's eyes widened. For a moment, she was speechless once again at Ash's sudden outburst. He had turned abruptly to her, and while he looked annoyed, she could see that his eyes had changed from brown to auburn, which didn't happen unless he was emotional. "Failed me?" she repeated quietly after a moment.

"Yeah," was all Ash said as he turned away from her again.

May blinked, then regained her composure. "Ash, what are you talking about?" she asked. "You didn't fail me at all! Why would you even think that?"

"Because it's true," he replied, turning back towards her. "If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't have lost the Grand Festival. If it wasn't for me, you would have reached your full potential by now." May couldn't believe what she was hearing. "And if it wasn't for me...you'd have someone who could really teach you how to be a top coordinator!" He sighed and shook his head in disgust, turning away again, eyes shaded by his hat. "That's something I could never teach you. I'm sorry."

May stared at her best friend, mouth gaping in shock. Ash was always so confident and reliable, being there when she lost to support her and promising that he'd help her do better next time. Seeing him question himself was foreign to her, and for a moment she wasn't sure what to do. "You don't actually believe that, do you?" she whispered.

"Well, what am I supposed to believe?" Ash replied, unmoving.

May came up to him and put her hand on his shoulder. "Ash," she said, "maybe you're right. Maybe I wouldn't have lost in the Grand Festival if a coordinator had taught me how to battle."

"There, you see?" Ash whipped up and looked at her again, her hand slipping off his shoulder. "It's just like Drew said. I can't help you be the coordinator you could be."

"What?" May blinked, surprised at the mention of her rival's name. Then it clicked. "Wait...you mean you think you failed me because of what Drew said?" When Ash nodded, May started to giggle slightly, putting a hand over her mouth.

"What's so funny?" Ash asked.

"Ash," May said, "Drew might have a point, but that doesn't mean you're holding me back just because you're not a coordinator."

"Yeah, well what does it mean?" he replied. "You still lost in the festival because of me."

"I never would have even been _in_ the festival if it wasn't for you, either!"

Ash was about to respond when her words stopped him. "What?"

"You know how I only became a Pokemon Trainer so I had an excuse to travel?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I probably would have stuck with that excuse, battling half-heartedly in gyms just so I could get to the next place I wanted to see. If I had done that, then I probably would've ended up depressed, alone, and unable to find something I was passionate about. But because I followed you, I found something that I was passionate about and followed it, creating a new dream for myself." She gazed at him endearingly, while he just stared back. "Maybe I did lose the Grand Festival because of you, but you're not holding me back from my full potential, Ash. The truth is, if it wasn't for you, I never would have even _found_ my true potential. And maybe I do need a coordinator to help me unlock my full potential, but I only know that because I followed you." She put her hand on his arm and squeezed it lightly. "You didn't fail me at all, Ash. In fact, you're probably the only person I know who has never failed me. And that's why you're my best friend."

Ash was speechless. Here, he had thought he was holding his best friend back. But now she stood before him, showing an unwavering belief in him and in the fact that he had helped her become the person she was today.

"May…" he said after a long moment, "I...I don't know what to say…"

May just smiled and put her arms around him in a light embrace. After a moment, he reciprocated, and they stood there as the last light of the sun disappeared over the horizon. Neither of them noticed, as they were so caught up in their moment together. Eventually, they pulled apart, smiling brightly at each other.

"Thanks, May," Ash said.

"No problem," she winked at him. "It's the least I could do after all the times you cheered me up after a loss."

Ash nodded with a chuckle. "So what's next?"

"Well," May sighed, "I'm thinking about taking Drew's advice and going to Johto, as well as finding a coordinating mentor. But no matter what happens, just know that you'll always be my first and best mentor."

"Well, I can respect that," Ash nodded, "but what I meant was, what's next right now?"

"Right now?" May blinked. Then she gasped. "Oh! The festival! I almost forgot. Come on! Maybe we can still catch the finals!" she exclaimed, grabbing his hand and rushing towards the stadium. Ash and Pikachu laughed as they ran. Ash was especially happy, knowing that he had helped May find her true potential. Her last words in particular made him smile brightly:

 _You'll always be my mentor._

* * *

 **Ah...nice to be writing something new again. I didn't do a lot of serious work on this one. I literally wrote down a draft and then copied it here. So it's probably lower in quality than some of my work, but it's still pretty good. I might just come back and revise it later.**


End file.
